美国十九世纪著名作家纳撒尼尔.霍桑在宗教的氛围中成长,深受清教思想的压抑与束缚,对其发起了猛烈的抨击。在其代表作《红字》中,霍桑通过对几个主人公命运、性格的深刻描写,表现了清教主义传统在人们思想上和生活上的烙印,以及清教对人的精神上的摧残,对人性和人权的压抑。但由于霍桑本人存在着比较浓厚的宗教意识和神秘主义的观念,因此,他对清教的态度又是困惑的。 Nathaniel Hawthorne, a famous American writer in the 19th century, grew up in a religious atmosphere and was strongly attacked by the repression and restraint of Puritanism. In his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne shows the imprint of the Puritanism tradition on people’s thought and life as well as the spiritual devastation of human beings by describing the fate and character of several protagonists. Depression of humanity and human rights. However, because of Hawthorne’s own existence of a strong sense of religion and mysticism, his attitude toward Puritanism is also confused.